


All Of My Love

by Dxlilith



Category: The Tick (TV 2017)
Genre: Multi, post-season one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-10-29
Packaged: 2019-05-29 17:51:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 12,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15078458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dxlilith/pseuds/Dxlilith
Summary: Arthur Everest, the boy who watched his heroes crash land into his father and murdered, is now a superhero! Isn’t that neat?! He even helped put away The Terror and overcame his fear of...well everything! Largely thanks to his big blue friend The Tick! So now what? What of that promise he made to help Tick find out who he was and where he came from?!





	1. Arthur! Or rather, Ruth!

“TICK!!!”

Arthur screeches. Hours from now when he is lying awake in bed listening to the soothing sounds of Ticks soft breathing through the paper thin walls of his apartment, Arthur will laugh. His voice still cracks. It’s like he never hit puberty. But right now, he’s going to scream his girly screams unabashedly.

“A little help please!”

“Coming right up chum.” Swiftly the Tick makes his way over to where Arthur struggles to keep the fallen beam off a litter of kittens. Their pitiful mewing resonating something in the Big Blue’s chest. “Fret not my fuzzy little felines.” 

With ease he takes the beam from Arthur and chucks it into the ever growing pile off to the side. The kittens mew louder, cheering almost.

“Thanks Tick. I think these guys were the last.” Arthur is already pulling apart the damaged cage and grabbing kittens. There were five all covered in soot and shaking but they were okay. Even he couldn’t help but smile as they claw onto his suit and cling.

“Egad, I did not think it possible to find anything cuter but here I stand, struck infinitely dumb by the overflow of preciousness that is before me this second!” 

The Tick beams brightly, a hand to his cheek and that strange sparkle in his eye that Arthur has for a while now dubbed the “here comes a hug” look.

“Do...do you wanna hold?” Arthur offers the smallest of the kittens. A tiny ball of black fluff, so covered in soot Arthur wasn’t really sure what color it was just that it had big blue eyes and had no claws to hold onto his suit like its siblings.

“Oh yes.” The Tick leans down but instead of taking the tiny bundle of kitty, he puts an arm on Arthur’s back and another under his leg. Before the smaller man can protest, Tick lifts him up off the ground, bridal style.

“Tick! I meant the cat not me!” Arthur flusters, his face bright pink. The kittens, startled by the motion, all converge down his arms and onto his lap so that even if he wanted to jump out of Tick’s arms, he’d risk dropping them all.

“And I meant you. Look at you in your overflowing river of adorableness.”

_“OhmygodTickshutup!”_ Arthur’s voice comes out in a rushed but soft plead. 

Between victims and the first responders, there were plenty of people within earshot of Tick’s exclamations. Dot among them who had just finish intubating one of the shelter workers. 

She stops herself from laughing out loud, not wanting Arthur to notice her pulling out her phone. She zooms in, capturing the perfect moment of Tick smiling down at Arthur’s beet red face as kittens crawl between the two heroes. She saves it and sends it to Overkill with a message that reads “You missed out.”

She gets a response almost immediately of the vomit emoji. It makes her chuckle and she makes a note to respond later. “Hey Guys! That’s everyone!”

“Please Tick put me down.” Arthur begs, his eyes shut. He hated when Tick said weird things like that. It made him feel, it made him feel like...well Arthur wasn’t sure what he felt. 

“Arthur!”

“Huh?” Arthur is standing, his sister staring at him and Tick off to the side, handing over the kittens to a woman in khakis.

“You blanked out. Are you ok? Have you been skipping your meds again?”

“Huh, oh, uh no? I, I mean that I’m okay and I have been taking my meds. I just spaced out a little.”

“You sure?” Dot asks, her green eyes looking directly into his eyes. It used to make him feel so small and scared, like he’d been caught doing something wrong but now he could see what it was really about. Her concern for her baby brother.

“Yeah.”

“Arthur! Can we keep her!?” The Tick is walking back towards them, his hands held out holding the tiniest kitty. “She does not want to leave me and I no longer want to part with her. Much like I would never part from you!” 

“Tick, I’m not really supposed to have pets...”

“Or burn marks across the wall, broken window treatments, oh and that lovely half wall...” Dot rattles off.

“All Tick’s doing.”

“Home improvement is a surprising yet pleasant side effect of being a superhero Arthur. Whaddya say chum? Let’s expand our little family full of justice with this bundle of joy?” Tick holds the kitten closer to Arthur. It makes a quiet meow breaking his already weak resolve.

“Fine but you’re cleaning the litter box, indefinitely.”

“Sure thing Chum, whatever that is.” Tick smiles, holding the kitten closer to his cheek to which it purred happily.

“Let me see her.” Dot searches one of the many pockets in her uniform jacket and pulls out a packet of wipes. Opening it and pulling one out, she reaches out to the kitten. “What’s her name?”

“Oh, I hadn’t thought to ask. What’s your name little miss?” Tick lowers the kitten to have Dot wipe off the soot. She mews and wriggles but doesn’t seem too displeased as her fur is freed of its sooty prison. It turns out her fur is a dark grey with an almost bluish hue.

“Tick, animals don’t really...” Arthur starts but is cut off.

“She asked that I pick a name!” Tick gasps, his voice lowering in veneration. “Such an honor my tiny friend.” 

Dot and Arthur share a look. She grabs another wipe and begins to gently remove the dirt from the kitten’s face which reveals a patch of white across her face. Two triangles on either side that meet at her nose, giving the appearance of a moth sitting ontop her little grey nose. 

“Arthur!”

“Tick, I’m right here you don’t have to shout.”

“No, her name shall be Arthur because I love you. I would be bestowing upon her the name of my loved one.”

Arthur chokes on his own spit. Maybe Dot does too because she has to turn around and cough into her jacket to hide the surprise laugh that comes out.

“Uh, Tick...I’m....I’m flattered but...”

“That’s a great name Tick.” Dot interjects, her arm slinking through Arthur’s. “But to avoid confusion, I’d modify it to Arty? Or Ruth?”

“What say you my fair lady?” Tick brings the kitten to his face. She meows. “Ruth it is, haha!” 

“Why don’t you ask her for cat advice Tick.” Dot points to the animal control worker still parked by the ambulances. “ Like what you should or shouldn’t feed her. We’ll wait for you right here.” 

“An inspired suggestion dearest Dot. Come Ruth.” Tick brings the kitten to his chest and jogs away. As soon as he is out of earshot, Dot spins Arthur by the arm to face her.

“When were you going to tell me you guys were _together?_ ”

“What!? No... _we are not together._ ”

“Arthur, he just drop the L word without batting an eye.”

“Yeah well he’s the Tick, tactless and completely oblivious to the implications...  
why are you looking at me like that?”

“You’re blushing.”

“I am not!” Arthur squeaks, his cheeks going redder.

“Listen, I love you Arthur and if you and Tick are a thing, I am totally fine with that. I mean not really cause it’s Tick but y’know...”

“I’m not with the Tick and, and this is the first time I’m hearing it myself. That Tick lov...loves me. I’m not sure in what sense but it’s not like I don’t _not_ love him?” Arthur makes a weak gesture with his arms and hands that is half shrug, half wave.

“In what sense?”

“In that, it’s nice to have someone who...who loves me outside of family cause y’know, he doesn’t _have to_ love me.”

“Arthur, you realize how conceited that sounds?”

“Gah! I know! I’m still processing this Dot give me a break!”

“What are we whispering about?!” Tick now stands over the siblings, Ruth perched on his shoulder like a proud parrot.

“About vaccines Ruth is going to need. I know a vet, I could get you an appointment next week.”

“Yes, we must ensure Ruth can withstand even the stuffiest of the sniffles.”


	2. Support

“Tick, why don’t you go up ahead of me? I need to talk to Dot about...pet insurance rates.”

“Alright Chum.” Tick nods, placing Ruth back onto his shoulder, he gets out of the car. When his frame disappears behind the lobby door, Dot speaks up. 

“So.”

“So?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Dot says after the awkward pause. “I just, I’d like to think that whenever you do get into a relationship with a guy or girl or Tick, you’d tell me because I want to be happy for you and support you.”

“I know...thank you Dot. I, I really appreciate it. And I know I can say the same for you. Even if you end up with Overkill.”

“What?”

_“What?”_ Arthur is smiling.

“Overkill? Are you serious? That guy needs like seven thousand hours of therapy and that’s JUST for his lack of social skills.”

“Hey, all I’m saying is, I’d be totally okay with whoever you decide to date because I love _you_. I want to be happy for you and support you.” Arthur holds his hands up.

“Asshole!” She punches him in the arm which super suit or not, still hurt.

“Ow!” He makes a show of rubbing his arm.

“This is crazy right?” Dot puts her hands onto the wheel but immediately brings them back down.

“Love is crazy.” Arthur mumbles.

“Not, not that. Just, this, us, all of this. The Terror being alive and you kicking his ass.”

“Technically Superian froze him.”

“Yeah but you did all the real legwork. You and Tick.”

“Yeah, we did.”

“And now look at you. Arthur, the mothman, fighting crime, saving kitties.”

“And ferrets. There were a couple ferrets.”

“And ferrets.” Dot smiles. 

“I should probably have a talk with Tick though.”

“The birds and the bees talk?”

“God no, he has to...I mean he might not...no. I mean like, I should clarify this whole love thing?”

“Oh.”

“Oh? What’s that oh mean?”

“I don’t know Arthur. I mean, it’s the Tick. He may mean it in a _you’re-my-best-chum_ love you and not _Arthur-bare-my-children_ love you”

_“Arthurbaremychildren?!”_

“You know what I mean.”

“Okay, but I know what you mean, and you know what I mean but we both know we don’t know what he means. And that’s the issue here.”

“Is it?”

“Yes.”

“For you.”

“Well, yeah.” Arthur turns in his seat to avoid looking at Dot. “What if...”

“Does it matter?” Dot offers quietly. Arthur’s shoulders drop, his brows furrow and he bites his lip. She knows this expression almost too well. “Don’t overthink it. Just go back up, before he brings out the search party.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how in this version of The Tick, Arthur has SUCH a supportive family.


	3. Home

* * *

When Arthur makes it to the door of his apartment, it’s wide open. Probably the Tick leaving it as such despite Arthur’s many warnings against it. He walks through and quietly closes it behind him. He removes his cowl and begins undoing the straps to his suit when he notices how quiet the apartment is.

Living with the Tick was like living with children; noisey, messy, and full of broken furniture. But before he can call out, he hears the stage whisper decibel of Tick’s voice.

“And this is the sofa bed. It is a sofa for sitting but it metamorphoses into a bed to sleep in. Arthur procured it from the land of IKEA.”

Arthur smiles and follows Tick’s voice into the living room. Thanks to his “half wall”, he can stand in the kitchen and watch from there.

“Ruth, I believe you will like it here. In fact, you’ll grow to love it as I do because it’s our home.” Ruth meows, her paw landing on Tick’s nose.

“Y’know Ruth, I was once like you .” Tick’s voice grows softer and now Arthur feels really awkward about standing there and listening because he is sure Tick doesn’t realize he’s there.

“No home, no family to speak of, and trapped in a cage. A cage of my mind of not knowing who or what I truly was.” Ruth brings down her paw and attempts to lick the Tick’s face but only succeeds in sticking her tongue out.

“Then I met Arthur and everything just made sense, even when it didn’t. Thinking isn’t really my expertise as you’ve probably guessed but Arthur? That amazingly put-together brain and voice saved me. Just like we saved you tonight.” Ruth mews louder, a happy little noise.

“Arthur says that nobody knows who they are. That we keep going because that’s what the journey is about. Much like a quest! And you Ruth, you’ve just joined our quest as our faithful feline companion!”

Something in Arthur’s chest swells and he decides he’s been standing there long enough. He steps loudly, feigning having just walked in.

“Arthur! I was just giving Ruth here the grand tour.

“Yeah? You think she likes the place?”

“She loves it.”

* * *

 

Dot’s eyes can barely make out the green glow of her watch but whether that was from  the lack of light at 3am or her own weariness, she couldn’t tell. Either way, she digs into her back pocket to produce the keys to her apartment. 

Her shift went on forever after helping out at the shelter fire with Arthur and Tick. There seemed to be a flux between less crime and more just human error of stoves being left on and old lady hips breaking. That made for a very long and boring shift.

Dot chuckles. Boring was exactly the word she would used. After coming face to face with the Terror, Ms. Lint, the pyramid gang, graveyard explosions and talking boats, her job of saving lives had suddenly become mundane.

“What’s so funny?”

The gruff voice pulls Dot out of her reverie and she finds herself in the hallway of her apartment with Overkill leaning on the door.

“What are you doing here?”

“Did you forget?”

“Oh shit! Yeah, just...”

“I’ll be leaving then.” Overkill stands up and goes to walk pass her but Dot catches his arm.

“Let me change my shirt. I have old lady puke.”

“That’s what that smell is.” Robotic eyes shift over to her.

“Shut up. I’ll be right out.”


	4. What’s That Red Stuff?

Nothing beat the satisfaction of waking up without an alarm clock. Arthur opens his eyes to his bedroom flooded with light. He forgot to close the curtains last night but that was just fine, he felt very well rested.

He sits up, yawns, scretches, and hears Ruth meowing somewhere in the room. He takes his glasses off the nightstand and heads to the bathroom to brush his teeth.

Just as he is finishing up, his cellphone rings in the kitchen. He rinses his mouth and pats his hand on the towel and heads to the phone.

“Hey Dot.”

“Happy birthday Arthur!!!” Dot sings loudly through the phone.

“It’s my birthday?”

“Look at your calendar.”

Arthur turns to look at his kitchen wall where a large calendar of Superian hangs. Circled in blue is the date.

“Oh yeah.”

“Arthur, take your meds. I’ll be by later with mom and walter.”

“Okay, will do.” Arthur puts his phone onto the counter and continues to stare at the calendar. There’s something wrong about it. He doesn’t remember buying a calendar nor hanging it up.

“Arthur!”

Before he can even turn around, Tick sweeps up Arthur into a bone-shattering hug.

“Happy Birthday Chum!”

“Tick, we talked about this...you’re crushing me.” 

“Sorry, I just love you so much!” 

Arthur feels his feet leave the ground as Tick brings him up higher, spinning him around the room until everything is a blur of colors and light. Tick’s antanae flail happily and his smile is infectious and Arthur hasn’t felt this happy on his birthday or any day really in years. There’s so much joy and warmth in his chest that he ends up shouting. “I love you too Tick!” 

Tick stops abruptly and puts him down but his hands linger on Arthur’s hips. Tick’s face is suddenly centimeters away from his, looking deeply into his eyes. Arthur can feel himself blushing profusely, his heart pounding against his ribcage, ready to leap out and away.

“You said it back.”

“Yeah...I,  I did, didn’t I?”

Tick’s face splits wide with a megawatt smile. He has never seen Tick _this_ happy and it’s bleeding onto Arthur who can feel his face burning with the heat of it all so he closes his eyes because its all too much to take.

“ARTHUR YOU GOTTA WAKE UP NOW!!! YOU’VE BEEN ASSAULTED BY AN INVISIBLE ASSAULTER!!!”

This is the first thing clue to Arthur that he was in the waking world. The second was the fact that he wasn’t in bed but his feet weren’t touching the ground either.

“YOUR FACE IS BLEEDING!!!”

Arthur rips his eyes open and is met with Tick’s panicked face. Tick who is holding him up off his bed with his much larger hands latched onto either side of his torso. He blinks a few times to adjust to the daylight pouring in from his bedroom window and feels it. The warm, slick sensation across his mouth and neck. He reaches up with tentative fingers.

“Tick, it’s just a nosebleed. I get these sometimes.” He tries to sound nonchalant but he’s still groggy and speaks in a low whisper.

“NOSES BLEED WHEN ASSAULTED!!! I SHALL CALL DOT FOR TRIAGE THEN SEARCH FOR THIS DEVIOUS FIEND WHO...”

“TICK!!” Arthur is now fully awake. He gently places his hands onto Tick’s forearms. “I’m okay. Nosebleeds happen on their own sometimes because of allergies or sinuses or change in temperatures but they’re pretty much normal. Let me go get cleaned up.”

Tick is quiet but his eyes lock onto Arthur’s and challeneges the smaller man. 

“Okay chum.” Tick gingerly places Arthur back down onto the bed. He steps away and reaches for a discarded t-shirt on the ground and offers it to Arthur.

“It’s fine, I’m just going to shower.” Arthur walks pass Tick and straight into the bathroom. He catches his reflection and realizes why the Tick had become so frantic. 

Blood was all over his face, neck, and shirt. He even looks paler than usual, little blue veins creeping from out of his hairline near his temples. He runs cold water and removes his shirt. There was no saving it now. Arthur scrubs his face and tries to remember the last he had a nosebleed this bad and hopes for a better rest of the day. 

 

* * *

 

“Tick, we should probably go grocery shopping for Ruth...” Arthur stops when he finds a very quiet, very somber looking Tick sat at the kitchen table. His back hunched over as he stares at something in his hand. His lips drawn in a tight, thin line. He’s never seen him so still before. “Tick?”

“Arthur, do I bleed?” The words spoken are so soft that Arthur doesn’t actually believe they came from Tick.

“Yes? Everybody does?” He responds nervously. He approaches the table slowly, trying to make out what Tick could be staring at. Even Ruth seems to sense something is wrong as she nuzzles his elbow.

Arthur is standing over Tick before he sees the spot of blood on Tick’s wrist. 

“I’m sorry Tick, let’s clean that up.”

Ticklifts his stare to Arthur. There is such a deep sorrow in those crystal blue eyes that Arthur almost forgets how to breath.

“What if I don’t bleed?”

“Tick, you bleed. It’s, it’s just little hard to do so.” Arthur clears his throat and attempts to imitate Tick’s bravado. “ _Nigh invulnerable_ remember?”

A multitude of unspoken emotions swirl on the hero’s face. It reminds Arthur of the time Tick realized he wasn’t a robot.

“We could check?”

“Could we!?”

 “Yeah, we could do a prick test on your finger tip.”

Tick brings up his hands and spreads his fingers. “Which one?”

“You’ll have to take off your gloves?” 

“I see.”

“I...I know you don’t like taking off your suit.”

“I don’t think I can.” Tick puts his hands back down.

“Do...do you need help?” Arthur’s voice cracks a little. This was going to be really awkward but he had already suggested it and Tick was starting to sound more like himself.

“Maybe? I don’t know chum. I don’t know where this ends or where I begin.”

“I’m almost certain it’s a suit because I can see parts of your face. Let me see if I can just...” Arthur’s fingers are reaching out before he can overthink it. He uses both hands to pinch two fingers just under Tick’s mask, right above his cheeks. 

The Tick never understood the concept of personal space but the intimacy of this was almost crushing. At least for Arthur. Especially with Tick’s eyes boring into him. 

The mask feels light, flexible and so he gently lifts it up and over, up to Tick’s eyebrows. Tick lets out a small gasp of surprise and Arthur finds himself in a staring contest with strikingly sunken eyes. They are beautiful in their uneveness, one with a bit of a droop to it. His face is marked by laughter lines and wrinkles that only made Tick seem more human than hero.

The mask is cresting, right at the top of Tick’s forehead. Arthur can make out the  hint of a dark brown hairline but that’s as far as he gets. The mask begins to vibrate, almost pulsing, until it slips right out of Arthur’s delicate hold and snaps back onto’s Tick’s face, covering him back up. 

“That’s not nice!” Tick moves away from Arthur, holding his face in his hands.

“I’m sorry, I, I didn’t do that. It like, just zhoomed back.” Arthur reaches out again, attempting a stronger hold but there is more resistance this time. He isn’t even able to lift it more than a centimeter off Tick’s face before it snaps back again. “Maybe it’s symbiotic?”

“Neat. What’s that?”

“It means that the suit is dependent on you for survival.”

“Oh, just like how I need you to live!”

“Yeah, I mean no. No, Tick. You, you don’t need me to live and breathe.”

“I beg to differ. There was that time I could barely breathe, couldn’t move my head, and I felt like I’d fallen off a cliff inside my own body all because you were gone. No thanks to that dastardly fellow The Terror.” Tick notices Ruth is still by his arm and he scoops her up. He pets the top of her head gently with two fingers and continues. “ I believe Tinfoil said my heart was breaking and that my friend, sounds pretty symboitic.”

Arthur knew Tick had a rough time the day he’d been kidnapped. He’d even heard from Goat, mostly putting in a strong complaint, how the blue wonder wallowed in his store, shouting his name incessantly. However, he wasn’t aware just how stronglyit affected Tick. 

“And that’s why I will never leave your side ever again little buddy.” Tick is smiling again. Ruth sits at his shoulder now, meowing along. 

“That’s...that’s nice Tick. I, I promise not to leave you either.”

“Ok!” Tick now stands up. “What’s on the agenda for today chum?”

Arthur balks. He doesn’t know whether to take advantage of Tick’s swift mood swings or not.

“Let’s get some groceries, maybe some stuff for Ruth and head over to Overkill and Dangerboat, they’ve got plenty of tech to help us figure out this suit.”

“Excellent! Oh and Arthur?”

“Yeah Tick?”

“Your face is bleeding again.”


	5. Cleanup on Aisle One

“Tick?”

“Yes chum?”

“Do you like Zeppelin?”

“Yes, they’re delicious.”

“You’re thinking zeppoli,” Arthur chuckles. “I mean Zeppelin. As in the band Led Zeppelin.”

“Not sure if I’ve ever heard of them.”

“The song that’s playing right now, it’s theirs. Your antennae have been swaying since it started.”

“Then consider me a fan.” Tick smiles, his whole head bopping to either side in time with the song. “What’s the name of it?”

“All of my...”

The unmistakable sound of gunshots interrupts everything.

“NO BODY MOVE AND NO ONE GETS HURT!!!”

The gunman’s eyes were bloodshot, his hair matted across to one side and he wore the supermarket’s uniform. It was significantly darker and dirtier than the woman’s who he held a gun to. She was a terribling old woman, wisps of white hair tussled by the barrel of the handgun at her temple.

“GET MIKE OUT HERE NOW!” He shouted at an employee one cashlane over. The scrawny teen jumps over the conveyor belt and sprints aways, disappearing into the produce aisle.

“I’m sure there is an easier way to get a hold of this Mike.” Tick walks over, casual as ever. “Perhaps a cellphone?”

Ruth mews weakly behind Tick. Arthur realizes other customers are either frozen in place or pulling out their cellphones. Quickly, he tucks Ruth into his shopping cart, hiding her inside a box of cereal. He begins to make hand gestures at anyone within eyeline to duck down and stay low. He crouches and creeps through the aisles, signaling everyone down. Another round is fired. 

This one hits Tick square in the chest and bounces off into a tower display of soda cans, piercing through the whole middle row. Gushing streams of cabronated brown flows out onto the floor.

“That won’t do, put the gun away and we can find you this Mike.” Tick is now only one cash register away from the man who seems even more frantic. He tosses the woman aside and switches to an assault rifle that had been slung across his torso but hidden behind the woman.

“Everybody down!” Arthur manages to shout before the man opens fire. 

As always is the case with Tick and bullets, they ping-pong off of him and rip through the store. Chips burst free from their bags like confetti, milk cartons erupt into fountains, eggs shatter like ooey, gooey glass, easy mac spills free, and bread rolls all across the aisles. 

One bullet manages to catch Arthur’s shoulder because despite his own advice, he hadn’t duck low enough. It sends him flying back, his head colliding with a small display of muffins before landing flat on his back.

“Arthur!” Tick calls out, hoping for a response but when none comes, he turns back to the gunman.

“Don’t touc...” he stops when Tick takes hold of the still smoking gun and squeezes it. A grinding noise emits as the metal gives and Tick curls the weapon into a U-shape. The gunman, spooked from the display of strength, removes his strap and begins to flea. He gets as far as two feet before that same twisted gun is wrapped around his torso and he is pulled back. He is forced to turn and face Tick.

“Hey man, I just wanted...I wanted my job back. Mike didn’t need to fire me. I wasn’t gonna hurt anyone.”

“My little buddy lying out there like a pile of manager special donuts says otherwise.” Tick’s voice is as soft as it is ominous. He begins curling the rifle further around the gunman until the butt meets the barrel on his back and presses in.

“Hey, hey, Hey! Ow! Im sorry, I didnt mean to...I just needed the money!”

“Tick!” Arthur’s voice stills the Blue Wonder.

“Arthur! You’re okay!” Tick drops the gunman and strides over to his sidekick.

“Yeah, I mean my head is killing me but yeah. I took your advice.” Arthur tugs at the collar of his shirt revealing that his wingsuit is underneath. “What, what were you doing?”

“Apprehending the criminal.” Tick says proudly. 

The gunman now sits on the floor, his weapon coiled like boa constrictor around him. He is trembling and there’s a puddle of yellow slowly pooling around him. Somewhere in the distance, sirens can be heard.

“Okay Tick, I think we’re done here.“ Arthur ushers Tick back towards their discarded cart. There is a smattering of applause and cheers as they make their way through. Tick smiling and waving happily. Arthur just wanting to get his day over with. 

“Thank you so much!” A frazzled, middle age man with a terribly mismatched tupé and wrinkled brown suit scuttles up near them. “ Ricky’s a junkie and I found him huffing paint in the men’s bathroom last week so of course I had to fire him. I didn’t think he’d retilate like this.” He gestures a chubby hand behind him. “Please, anything you want, yours for free.”

“My groceries?” Arthur points to the cart full of food. Ruth, having managed to crawl out of the cereal box with marshmallow bits sticking to her fur, sits in the child seat.

“Uh.... _One_ item.” The manager smiles weakly.

“This.” Tick holds up a small blue dog collar that Arthur has no clue when he’d gotten a hold of.

“Of course! And you’re more than welcomed to any of the products caught in the...erm...crossfire!”

“Neat!”


	6. Training Day

“Done!”

“Five minutes and seventeen seconds.” Dangerboat trills.

“You beat your own record. Impressive.” Overkill, despite not wanting to, is smiling.

“Told you I was a fast learner.” Dot returns with a smile of her own.

Beep Beep

“Fuck.”

“What? Did I misalign the chambers again?”

“Your brother’s here.”

“My bro...”

“Hello Overkill and Dangerboat!” The door slides open, it’s hydraulics drowned out by Tick’s booming voice.

“Arthur, Tick, helllooooo.” Dangerboat’s voice trills as his eye camera zooms down to greet the two heroes. “Oh you’ve brought a kitten with you?”

“She is our feline companion, her name is Ruth!” Tick holds Ruth up to Dangerboat’s camera. She meows and reaches out.

“What a precious bundle of fur. Can’t we have a cat Overkill? It is me you’re living in and I’m alright with them.” Dangerboat turns over to Overkill.

“No. I’m allergic. Keep that thing away from me or I will shoot it.” His warning goes over less than threatening because as soon as he says this, he sneezes.

“Dot?” Arthur walks in behind the Tick but the first thing he sees is Overkill and his sister sat next to each other at the danger table with gun parts all around them.

“Hey Arthur, funny seeing you here.” 

“Super funny actually.”

“You never told him huh?” Overkill puts down the gun he was working on and glares at Dot.

“I was going to, when it came up.”

“When it came up? Like last night? It sorta kinda came up _last night_.” Arthur has burrowed his hands into his pockets to keep from air quoting.

“Is Dot Overkill’s new sidekick?” Tick beams. 

Everyone in room yells out “No!”

“I’m training her.” Overkill grunts.

“Oh, that’s not...train?” Arthur looks over at his sister.

“Yes training. I want to be able to fight along side you guys and not get fridged.” 

“Yes, we would not want a frozen Dot.” Tick nods. Arthur, Dot, and Overkill share a look.

“Anyway, what are you two idiots doing here?” 

“Did you not read my text? You answered with a smiley face.”

“I did?” Overkill dug into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Sure enough, there was a text from Arthur asking for help with Tick and he did in fact respond with smiley face. “I did.”

“He must have been distracted by all the training.” Dangerboat chimes in.

“That’s my cue to leave.” Dot stands up from her seat, grabbing her jacket as she does. “I’m in serious need of sleep.”

Overkill looks at Dot, his jaw clenching. There is definitely something he wants to tell her but certainly not in front of mixed company so he settles for. “We’ll go over restraints next time.”

“Cool.” Dot smiles, putting on her jacket. She waves goodbye to everyone, making sure to pet Ruth before walking out of Dangerboat.

“Wait, Dangerboat, didn’t I have you do a facial and voice regcognition scan? I never got those results.”

“That’s because there were none. It’s like the Tick never existed up until now.”

“That’s exactly how I feel! There was nothing until Destiny brought me to Arthur!”

“Oh but that is sweet.” Dangerboat sighs.  
“Still, I’ll run a swab test to determine if at the very least Tick is human and we’ll go from there?”

Dangerboat’s eye camera swivels and glides down to the left side of the boat near a monitor with the words Awaiting Sample across the screen. Arthur walks over to Overkill so that he is standing over the man. 

“Just how long have you and my sister been training?”

“Since she brought me back from the dead.” He says without looking up.

“That’s a useful repayment.” Tick to Dangerboat’s monitor and stands right under Dangerboat’s eye. He places Ruth onto to his shoulder. “What now?” 

“Open up.”

“What exactly?”

“Your mouth.” There’s a whirring sound and from a compartment above his head, a long cotton swap appears, heading towards Tick’s mouth. “It doesn’t make for much cinematic value but open wide.”

The cotton swab is pushed into Tick’s waiting mouth. Dangerboat swipes at the sides then retracts it. Another compartment opens with a test tube he places the swab into. An opening on the side of the monitor opens where he places the tube. It disappears and the screen now reads Processing.

“How long will that take?” Arthur asks.

“24 hours. I’ll do a throughout breakdown of his DNA.”

“That’s plenty of time to fight crime and defend The City!” 

“Everest, let’s talk.” Overkill stands up and walks out of Dangerboat.

“Uh, ok.” Arthur follows Overkill out. He can hear Tick already walking behind him. “No Tick, stay. I’ll be right outside Dangerboat.”

“Okay, but if Overkill gets... _stabby_ , just shout.”

“Yeah.”

Arthur walks out but not before checking Tick wasn’t directly behind him again. He could hear him talking to Ruth about something so that should buy him at least five minutes. 

He walks right into Overkill.

“The fuck?”

“Sorry.” Arthur backpeddles, attempting not to trip over a spool of rope

“You sure about this?” Overkill’s robot eyes lock onto Arthur. “You sure you want to find out?”

“Well, it’s more for him really...”

“That dummy doesn’t know a lot but he doesn’t really seem like he cries himself to sleep over it either.”

Arthur looks up at Overkill, trying to form words but only comes up with, “If you don’t want to help, you can just say that.”

“I didn’t say that. I’m asking if you’re sure about this? What if we find out he’s secretly a weapon of mass destruction or an alien invader or republican?”

“Then we’ll have his origin story but not who he is now or, or who he is going to be. You of all people should know what that’s like.”

Overkill looks away from Arthur and says nothing. The two stand on the pier, not saying a word for several awkward moments until Overkill pulls something from his tactical vest. “Here.”

“What’s this?” Arthur takes the slip of paper. There are a series of numbers written on it.

“Superian’s direct line. He’s been around for literally hundreds of years. He might have an idea of what Tick is.”

“Wait, you had his number...”

“Midnight gave it to me _after_ The Terror was captured.”

“Oh...thanks. Thanks.” Arthur tucks the slip of paper into his back pocket. Overkill is still looking out at the water. 

“So uh...you and Dot?”

“I’m training her to be the badass she’s meant to be. That’s all.”

“Cool, cool”

“Go away now. I’ll call you when the results come in.”


	7. Rever

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone dreams in French, don't argue with me.

“ _Arthur...Arthurrr..._ ”

He opens his eyes and turns over to repeat to Tick his lecture on personal space and NOT creeping into his bed while he is asleep. 

But he doesn’t.

Gone is the mask. Gone is the entire suit. In their stead is a man. Same height, same sunken eyes but tussled black hair and no sign of antennae. There’s a small smile on his face as he lies on his side, large hand against his cheek while he uses his arm to prop himself up. He’s wearing a grey tshirt and plaid pajama pants and he is almost too tall for the bed. He smells of Ouma’s cooking.

“I was beginning to worry mon papillon de nuit.”

“I’m sorr...sorry. Just had the strangest dream.”

“Tell me about it.”

“We were superheroes.”

“Ha!” His laugh is a jolt to Arthur’s chest but it’s also soothing and familiar.

“You wore a blue suit that you never took off and, and I had a flying suit and we were both bulletproof. You could withstand Lint’s lighting powers and we took out the Terror and Superian was there too!” Arthur hears his own voice cracking and feels his cheeks growing red.

“That’s quite the imagination mon papillon.” The man with Tick’s voice and eyes leans forward and kisses Arthur’s forehead. It felt like a snowflake falling onto him and subsequently melting into his skin. “Come now, we’ve got to start the day.”

“Oh, okay.” Arthur sits up in bed, letting his sheets pool about his hips. The bed shifts as Ted gets up and comes around to his side. 

That’s his name. Ted Glick. Not Tick. 

“Now, we’ve a big day ahead of us papillon,” Ted crouches down so that he is just under eye level with Arthur. He reaches his hands out and takes hold of Arthur’s, completely encapsulating them in a cocoon of warm, calloused skin. “I need you to take all your medications today okay?”

“Oh, okay. I will.” Arthur offers a weak smile. He hates disappointing Tick, Ted. He hates disappointing Ted. He would do anything that Ted asks him to because Ted would do the same.

“C’est bon.” Ted lets go of Arthur’s hands and stands. He then leans into him, tucking one arm under Arthur’s legs and the other across his back. He lifts him up into a bridal style that has Arthur instinctually wrapping his arms around the opposite shoulder.

Arthur is both surprised and relieved by the familarity to this. Like he’s been here, in Ted’s arms, his entire life. Ted walks him over to his wheelchair and gently sets him down in it.

“Tha-thanks.”

“Of course.” Ted smiles, his hands on either arm rest, looking deeply into Arthur’s eyes. “Sans toi, je ne suis rien mon papillon de nuit.”

“Oh, okay. I, I...” Arthur begins to wring his hands in his lap. Unable to keep such an intense eye contact and stare at his legs instead.

“Arthur?”

Arthur looks up and finds he can’t really see through his goggles. One lens is cracked into a spiderweb, the other has a smear of dark red and only one of his headlights are on. He can taste the mix of blood and bile in his mouth, throat, and nose. He gags and more gushes out of his mouth and joins the murky sewer waters he is standing in.

“Arthur! Fucking shit!” Overkill appears through the shadows, his robot eyes two will-o-wisps as he runs towards him. 

“Where’s Tick?!” Arthur manages after the last of the bile falls from his lips.

“Fuck him! We need to get out of here before this whole thing blows!” Overkill grabs at Arthur’s cowl, ripping it off his head and drags him.

“No, no, no we are NOT leaving without Tick!” Arthur wriggles and squirms and splashes lumps of brown water over both of them. He tries to taze Overkill but it's completely ineffective and continues to be dragged through the sewer.

“Overkill no, no, Tick needs us, he, he, needs me.”

“That blue fuck doesn't need anything but a nail in the coffin.”

“Tick’s alive, he’s...”

“Arthur he left you for dead!” Arthur is pushed to the ground. The thick coating of slime beneath the water causing him to fall further into it until he was fully submerged.

“ _Arthur, you are not listening._ ”

“Huh?”

“Where are you right now?”

“In your office. Dr. Edlund.”

“And where is this office?”

“In Baxter County Mental and Behavioral Institute. I was admitted three years ago...after, after my break with reality and...” Arthur can’t say it. He looks away from the doctor and onto the carpeting. It always bugged him that it was dark blue instead of cobalt.

“And how are you feeling today? Is Tick with us?”

“I’d never leave your side chum!” Tick appears next to Arthur, patting his back a little too hard.

“Yeah.”

Dr. Edlund’s bright eyes look up from his glasses at the space where Tick is standing but the vacancy in them confirm to Arthur that Tick isn’t actually there. He never was, was he?

“Arthur, have you been taking your meds?”

“Yeah...”

“Chum, lying is possibly the worst offense.” Tick nudges Arthur's shoulder.

“I’ve been skipping dosages.”

“Arthur, I’m only trying to help you but I cannot do so if you refuse to make an effort for yourself.”

“Yeah I, I just...I just hate the feeling.” Arthur sighs, putting his hands in his lap. 

“The feeling of what?”

“The feeling like...like...”

“You’re not you without...” Tick’s voice fades away.

“ _Mreow_.”

The soft wet noise of Ruth’s mew is what wakes Arthur up. He opens one bleary eye to find the tiny kitten sat on his chest, swishing her tail to and fro.

“Ruth?”

“Mreow.” 

Arthur rubs his eyes and adjusts to the light. According to his clock, he was five minutes earlier than the time he set his alarm for.

“C’mere.” He takes Ruth into his hands and sits up in bed. He idly pets the top of her head while he tries to sift through his morning fog brain. But it’s short lived when there’s a clattering noise from the kitchen.

“Tick!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mon papillon de nuit = my moth  
> Sans toi, je ne suis rien mon papillon de nuit = Without you, I am nothing my moth


	8. Just Another Shift

“Remind me again chum, why you must attend your undercover job?”

“Tick, I’ve told you a thousand times.” Arthur sighs. He gathers his keys and briefcase from the counter. “This is not my undercover job but my real job that pays the bills like the rent for this apartment that you happen to live in with me and have guests over.”

Arthur gestures to Tinfoil Kevin sat at the kitchen table, fiddling with a radio. Arthur was sure it was working just fine so what Tinfoil was doing with it was beyond him.

“Just make sure to not break anything, feed Ruth and don’t let anyone else into the apartment.”

Arthur makes his way around the kitchen table and is almost pass Tick when the blue wonder stands up from his seat and brings him into a hug.

“I love you Arthur, have a fun day at your job.”

“Tick, I...” Arthur is glad to have his face hidden as he can feel his face burning with the sudden show of affection. “I gotta...gotta go now.”

“Okay chum.” Tick releases Arthur, taking his seat back.

“See ya later....you too Kevin.”

Tinfoil and Tick wave as Arthur practically scurries out the door. The sound of it shutting and locking settling a quiet over the whole of the apartment. Kevin puts down his tools and eyes the Tick curiously. “He hasn’t said it back yet, has he?”

“Said what back?” Tick tilts his head alongside his antennae.

“We should go get more parts.”

“Can we bring Ruth?”

“Of course.” 

* * *

 

One hour and thirty minutes. It’s the longest Arthur has been able to work at his desk without Tick tapping on a window or Overkill ziplining through the walls. He would almost enjoy it if it wasn't for the fact that Jergen was still his desk buddy and literally would not shut up.

“I’m telling you, it’s all a hoax to keep us from looking at the real issue...”

“Yeah, I’m gonna go get coffee.” Arthur saves the spreadsheet he’d been working on and gets up and away from Jergen.

The breakroom is small but boasts three coffee machines and an electric kettle. Two other accountants sit chattering at the only table in the room. It isn’t until he’s drinking his cup of coffee and avoiding small talk that he remembers something.

He pulls out his cellphone and searches for the number he recently added. He stares at it and debates between texting Superian or calling but decides to text and ask if he has any free time to call him back.

Arthur hits send and releases the breathe he was holding. He leans back onto the small counter, nodding a perfunctory goodbye as the accountants leave.

It felt strange. For a very long time, that was all Arthur ever had. Solitude. Yes he had his family and their support and the many, many, many shrinks. But for the most part, Arthur was always left alone.

However, today was maybe the first time in recent history where he was left completely by himself. No talking boats, no Terror, not even Tick and that felt stranger still. Not having Tick constantly filling his ears with his boisterous pleads for justice and destiny. And now apparently in his dreams too.

“Ted Glick.” Arthur chuckles at his own words. “That’s an original...” His phone rings. In white lettering, the words Superian Calling dare him to answer.

"Hello?"

"Arthur...hel..lo ther... You wa..ted to talk?" Arthur can just barely make out the words through the wooshing sounds.

"Uh, yeah, kinda of...are, are you busy?"

"No, no, just finishing up some..." there's a pause and a loud clanking noise that has Arthur pulling the phone away from his ear until it stops. "Clean up. What's up?"

"I uh, I was wondering if I could maybe...pick your brain about something? It has to do with Tick."

"Tick? Your partner? Everything all right I hope."

"Yeah, everything's great. It's just...well, he doesn't know who he is or even what he is or where he came..."

"I'm sorry Arthur, I'm going to have to cut you off there." There's a strange screeching noise this time followed by the sound of rushing water. "Let's meet up for lunch, how's one o'clock?" Another screech and the water grows louder.

"Yeah, yeah that's perfect. Where should...”

"I’ll find you, see ya soon.” The call cuts out, leaving Arthur to stare at his phone.

* * *

 

“Earth to Dorothy.”

“Huh?”

“Yo, you got it bad girl. What’s their name?”

“What are you talking about?” Dot looks over at Becks. They were getting in an early practice session at the club and while Becks was already in full derby gear, Dot was still sitting on the bench with only her elbow pads on.

“You girl, don’t act like you haven’t been texting your little fingers off these last couple of days.”

“I’m just texting.”

“It ain’t your brother cause you never smile like that for him so it gotta be someone who treatin’ that cookie right.”

Dot’s face flushes a bright pink and she shoves her phone deep into her bag. “No one is...It’s just my friend Over...Esteban”

“That sounded like a question. Is he or is he not ya friend?”

“He’s my personal trainer.”

“Yeah girl, whatever you want to call it. Now get ready, I want to practice a move I saw the Banshees pull last game.” 

 

* * *

 

“So the Tick doesn’t know who or what he is? Interesting.”

Arthur and Superian sit across one another at a table in the middle of an empty diner. Apparently, Superian rescued Mimi's Eatery from a fire once and the owners allow him to have private meals any time he wants. Arthur knew of the place. He has walked by it several times on his way to work but this was the first time he’d ever actually been inside. It was the standard, tacky affair of stuck in the fifties seafoam green pleather hell. The seats squeaked with every one of his fidgets.

“Yeah. He just kind of showed up and never left.” Arthur picks up a fry and chews on the end. The food was better than expected but he wasn't too hungry.

“Ha, whirlwind romance eh?”

“What? Oh, no,no, we’re not...we’re not a couple. We just...fight crime together.” Arthur chuckles.

“Ah.” Superian takes a sip of his coffee and looks out the window. “Tick actually reminds me of a species from my homeworld.”

“You mean, there’s a chance Tick’s an alien like you?”

“Kid, there’s a chance of anything being possible if...erm... sorry. I’m just so used to...” Superian makes a motion with his hand and stills it by taking up the coffee mug again. “They’re called Ixodidaens. They aren’t anything like myself save for being almost invulnerable. And they’re psychic.”

“Like they can see the future?”

“Like telepathically linked to all sentient beings." He eyes his rare steak and uses his heat vision to cook it just a bit more. He just didn't like the taste of blood. "But they are a bit...clingy. Normally they get attached to a single being and stick around that being until it dies. Kind of like...what are those things that latch onto sharks and eat the sea curd?”

“Barnacles?”

“Ah yes, Barnacles! Kind of like barnacles. They protect the being and care for them and all they usually want in return is companionship.”

“That’s....kind of nice.” And sounds just like Tick but Arthur doesn’t say that out loud.

“Mm, except of course, humans are SUPER fragile. If Tick is one of these guys, then time’s short for you buddy.”

“What? Wait, why?”

“The telepathetic thing? It exists on a capacity way beyond what any human has developed so far. You are a lesser species after all.”

“Uh...”

“No offense of course.”

“None taken? But what do you mean? Am I going to die or something?”

Superian tilts his head, taking a moment to think. He wants another sip but he checks his mug and finds it empty. “Yes. It’s bound to implode, right out of that tiny skull of yours.” Superian reaches over and taps the side of Arthur’s head which causes him to flinch.

“But I don’t think the Tick is that. I mean, how long has it been since you two hooked up?”

“We haven’t hooked up, we uh, met...three months ago?”

“Oh.”

“Oh what?”

“Well, I might be off, time moves very differently for me, but I’d say no more than two weeks. Three if you’re lucky.”

Arthur swallows the lump in his throat. “But how do I know?”

“Have you been having headaches? Nosebleeds? Dreams unlike the ones you’ve dreamt before?”

Arthur feels his hands go numb. “Uh...”

“Just kidding,” Superian laughs. “I have no clue how the human body would respond to the psychic link, just assuming.” He flashes a shit eating grin and Arthur feels like he could melt into a puddle from the relief. “But uh, in all seriousness, the human brain would essentially break. It just can’t keep up the psychic energies and would eventually fry in the most literal sense.”

“Oh.”

“But I’m sure the Tick is some sort of human freak mutant with head injury.” He smiles a megawatt smile with teeth that he uses in all his photo ops. Arthur grimaces.


	9. Take a Seat

"Hey Tick, sorry I’m late.”

Arthur drags his feet through the door, swinging his briefcase onto the nearest counter. His day had gone as well as it could with him processing the fact that he may be dying. He had of course rehearsed the twelve million ways he could broach the subject to Tick. All of them involved a lot emotional distress for either party.

“In here Arthur!” Tick’s voice calls out from the living room.

He is sitting on the couch watching television with rapt attention while Ruth sits in his lap asleep. Nothing looks broken and nothing seems missing and that was a good start.

“What’re you watching?” Arthur asks quietly, his feet slowly shuffling over.

“Something about _ancient aliens_. Superian appears from time to time to give his expertise.”

Arthur swallows back the bile that emerges at the back if his throat.

“Do...do you mind if I join you Tick?”

Tick turns towards Arthur and smiles brightly with his antennae wiggling happily. “Of course!” He scoots over, the couch creaking loudly.

Arthur sits down only to fall into Tick’s side from the uneven weight distribution. Tick's suit feels cool against Arthur's flushed skin. He closes his eyes for a moment to collect himself and move away from Tick.

"Arthur, are you alright?"

“Huh?” He opens his eyes and there's Tick looking down at him with concern.

“Tick, do you think you could read my thoughts?” It comes out casually but not at all what Arthur actually meant to say.

"I am pretty certain it is you that can read my mind but I can try!”

Tick grins and begins to stare deeply into Arthur’s eyes, his own eyes squinting in concentration. Under the scrutiny, Arthur finds it hard not to fidget but he tries his best not to look away. His face feels warm again and the thought that maybe he's running a fever crosses his mind.

"You're bleeding again." Tick reaches out to wipe at the small trickle of blood forming at the edge of Arthur's left nostril. “Is this really normal Arthur, it’s been happening quite a lot.”

“Maybe?” Arthur squeaks. He starts searching his pockets for a napkin when his phone goes off. The screen reads Overkill this time. He pushes the accept button.

“Everest.”

“Overkill.”

“Dangerboat got zilch.”

“What?”

“Let me talk to him...." Dangerboat's voice filters through the call and Arthur can hear Overkill's deep sigh before he's being addressed by the sentient watercraft. " _Arthurrrr_ , hello! How are you?”

“I’m okay Dangerboat, what’s up? Were you able to find anything out about Tick?” Arthur wipes the back of his hand across his nose. There isn’t anymore blood.

“Well, I ran as many tests as I could but the only thing I was able to discern is that Tick's DNA sequence looks human."

"Looks human?"

"Yes. All the right bits and pieces seem to be present but unfortunately, every strand is completely saturated in bismuth which makes it impossible to see any other molecular data.”

“But we got rid of all the bismuth on Tick.”

“Even my most intimate bits.” Tick stage whispers. His interjection causing Arthur to jump a little.

“Yes but, and this is only an educated guess from an artificial intelligence system with a standard understanding of chemistry and biology, the amount of time he had it on him allowed for it to seep into his DNA, completely masking his coding."

"So another dead end?"

"Oh Arthur, don't sound so sad. I sent the results over to our resident bismuth expert. He may be able to decipher what I, a humble watercraft, could not. "

"Dr. Karamazov! Thanks Dangerboat."

"You're welcome Arthur. Is there anything else I could do for you?"

"No, no thanks Dangerboat."

“Arthur, I was wondering if...”

“Thank you for you help! Goodnight!” Arthur hangs up before Dangerboat could say anything else.

“Are we to pay a visit to Doctor Baby Body?”

Arthur looks at the time on his watch and suddenly he is exhausted. It’s not actually that late and normally he would have dinner sorted by now. He and Tick would share the meal before heading out for an hour or two of patrol then bed. But right now? He was tired.

He looks up at Tick who waits expectantly for his answer, his antennae twitching. What if Tick is slowly killing him? What would be the solution? Tick moving out? Not fighting crime together? What if Dr. Karamazov already figured this out? What if the only solution was death? Either outcome would mean separation from the first person in Arthur’s life that believed in him.

“Yeah, let’s go pay him a visit.”

* * *

 

Misha Karamazov stooped over his workbench. Just a week ago he could barely walk a straight line without falling over but today he was hunched over, toying with violatile chemicals in delicate machinations with ease.

“Hellooooo?! TK, Dr. Bobble-head!”

The boisterous call of Tick rouses Karamazov to stand erect quite suddenly and narrowingly avoiding one of his vials to roll off the table and onto the floor. He adjusts in time to meet Tick and Arthur as they walk through the door.

“Hello Blue Wonder and his little scared human. And kitty!" Karamazov reaches out a robot hand to pet the tiny kitten on Tick's shoulder. "I know why you’ve come and have already begun the test. Come, follow.”

“Test?”

“Neat!”

Arthur and Tick say at the same time. The latter following the robo-bodied scientist readily into a different part of the robot head-turned-lab. Arthur hesitates, taking in the changes. When they first entered Kevin's office, it wasn't more than a hollowed out shell covered in Christmas lights. Now there were monitors jerry-rigged everywhere with work benches full of chemicals or machine parts and hey! That was his radio! Arthur goes to grab it only to notice its been gutted. He tells himself that he never really used it so he goes through the archway Tick and Karamazov went through.

"So you see, with this extractor I will be able to get a better sample." Karamazov is holding a giant syringe dangerously near Tick's eye who seems quite nonplussed about the whole thing. Ruth meows at it nervously.

"Uh, could you not get anything off the sample from Dangerboat?" Arthur squeaks. He doubts Tick would feel a thing and knowing his invulnerability, the syringe would break anyway.

"Ah yes. The Tick is absolutely immersed in Bismuth! It is now a part of him. There's no removing it. This makes him a perfect specimen for my ongoing research. In fact, I have just the experiment..."

"Yes but will any of that tell us what or who he is?"

"Ah...." Dr. Karamazov's face drops, he hadn't considered any of that. The mad scientist in him sometimes got the best of him. And so he let go of all the wonderful experiments, and some not so wonderful, he could think of, to do what was actually asked of him.

"I have a machine, Tinfoil and I have been working on. It has the ability to travel into a person's neurological paths and route out memories lost due to things such as brain damage and debilitating disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's."

"That sounds perfect! And an amazing contribution to society...what's the catch?"

"We have yet to test it and need both a control as well as test subject simultaneously to collect accurate readings." Tinfoil Kevin lumbers out from a literal hole in the wall with a tangle of wires bundled in his arms.

"Ah, yes. It is a two man experiment." Karamazov confirms.

"Arthur and I are a two man everything!" Tick walks over to Arthur, wrapping his arm around the smaller man, bringing him flush against his side. Ruth takes the opportunity to climb onto Arthur's shoulder.

"Is it even remotely safe?"

"Wellllll…."

"The calculated risk of death is less than 98% and the risk of lasting brain damage is only 47%." Tinfoil states in his somber tone, untangling the wires in his hands as he does.

"As an accountant, I can say that with undeniable certainty that that's terrible math."

“But remember Tinfoil, these are the results with the itty-bitty brains of mice. Arthur and Tick have triple the brain mass.”

“Then the chances drop to 78% and 37%, respectively.”

“Tick are you sure you...Tick?” Arthur turns to find the space next to him empty.

“Look Arthur, matching seats!” Tick is sat in what looks like a crude electrical chair with Karamazov already strapping a colander shaped helmet onto his head, making sure to loop Tick’s antennas through two of the holes at the top. There are large power cables that run from both chairs to a computer monitor two feet away.

“I promise to cut the power if I smell toast.” Kevin gently removes Ruth from Arthur's shoulder and pets her softly on the head.

“Th...thanks.”

Arthur reluctantly takes the next to Tick. Karamazov right behind him to strap him into the helmet and restraints across his wrists.

“We will begin with a few standard questions to create a base reading.” The scientist says as he walks back towards the table where Kevin now sits on a stool, typing something up on the keyboard. Ruth lays beside it, staring at the screen.

Arthur doesn't actually hear what Dr. Karamazov says, too busy staring at the straps across his wrists. Why were there straps? To stop him from running off? To stop the thrashing as his brain fried?

“What is you favorite color?” Kevin’s voice pulls Arthur from the train wreck of thoughts.

“Uh...blue."

Kevin nods, Dr. Karamazov squints his eyes at the monitor and nods back.

“Tick, what is your favorite color?”

“Let’s see, my favorite color would undoubtedly be the color of Arthur’s eyes.”

“Tick, do you even know what color my eyes are?” Arthur sighs.

“The same color as muddy puddles and light roast coffee.” Tick beams.

Kevin and Karamazov share a look, the readings on the screen setting off several pings.

“It would seem Tick is telling the truth or what he perceives as truth. His brain activity matches yours. Now that we have this base, Kevin, bring up the frequency.”

“Frequen...”but before Arthur can finish the word, a screeching noise fills his entire being. It tears through his brain like a wildfire. He fights against the straps and can just make out Tick’s voice trying to penetrate through. He may be screaming himself. Arthur can’t really tell but it stops just as sudden as it started leaving everything blissfully dark and quiet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so the whole "two months" is out the window, but haven't abandoned this yet


	10. The Doors

 He was sitting on the floor? It was too dark to tell. Gone was the chair with its straps and monitors and Karamazov and Kevin and Tick.

“Hello?” Arthur ventures a call into the void. There is no answer, not even an echo.

“Great, I’m dead.” He huffs, shoving his hands into his pockets. 

“ARTHUR!!!”

“Tick?!” 

Arthur scrambles to his feet and tries to look around him for any sign of the big blue wonder. He is met by only darkness and an overwhelming sense of dread. 

“ARRRTHUR!!!”

He can’t tell where Tick’s voice is coming from but surges foward in a blind panic. This scream was much louder than the last but laced with something else. Something he had only heard from The Tick once before. 

Fear.

Arthur runs and runs until the world around him grows a little brighter. There’s a door in the distance, underneath a single spotlight. He smashes into it, barely giving himself time to cover his face as wood splinters all around him. When he feels the last of it fall away he opens his eyes and stands in the middle of a hallway.

It is _ugly_. Brown walls crusted over in years of badly patched water damage stretch as far as he can see. Both in front of and now behind him. As if the door he’d just burst through hadn’t been there at all. 

He treads slowly ahead, a little bemused by the sudden change of scenery and other things begin to come into focus. Like the paintings that hang on the walls. 

Haphazardly, some practically about to fall off their nails. All of them potraits but with the faces torn away. Arthur is tempted to pick at the loose canvas to piece them back together.

“ARTHUR!”

Tick’s voice is very close. Arthur breaks into another sprint, running alongside the damaged paintings until the hall begins to curve left and become wider and wider until he runs right onto a crowded street.

It’s an overpass, surrounded by horror-stricken faces hidden behind their cellphones. They’re filming Tick, who is too busy grappling the back end of a bus about to fall over the bridge to notice.

Tick is struggling, clinging to the bumper as it slowly falls apart in his grasp. His body is stretched out, his feet far apart and at an angle that at any second would cause both him and the bus to topple. 

“Wait! My baby!” The familiar plead a woman cuts through the air. Arthur looks on with a strong out of body sensation as another Arthur in full wingsuit makes the split decision of going back inside the bus.

“Arthur, hurry.” 

Arthur catches the look of worry on Tick’s face. It’s not something he remembers happening as the other Arthur activates his goggles and marches onto the bus. 

Tick bares down one last time to keep hold of the bus but it slips. First from one hand, then the other, the symphony of a poorly structured vehicle twisting out of the hero’s grasp. It careens off the bridge and onto the lower highway. Tick’s hands still outstretch. His face contorts in time with the sounds of crunching metal meeting pavement. All the air leaves his body, his mouth fixed open. His hands fall to his side and Arthur can just barely hear his own name slip through thin lips.

But something is  _off_. Other-Arthur should have flown back up by now. Even if it had felt like a million years before he had flown out of the bus with baby seat in tow, it hadn’t actually been more than thirty seconds. So where was he?

“My baby!!!” The woman screeches. She is thrashing in the arms of two strangers attempting to comfort her.

Arthur watches as Tick nears the edge of the bridge to look down, to search for Other-Arthur who should still be alive.

“My baby...” Tick whispers, his eyes filling with tears. Arthur decides he has seen enough.

“Tick!”

“Arthur?” The relief in his voice is enough to crush him but it’s Tick’s subsequent hug does instead.

“Yeah Tick, it’s me.” He speaks into the crevice of Tick’s arm.

“I thought I lost you.”

“You didn’t, you never did Tick. Don’t you remember?”

“Remember?” Tick pulls Arthur away but keeps a hold of the smaller man’s shoulders. “When did you change out of your suit?”

“Tick, I need you to focus. I think Karamazov’s machine backfired and we’re...somewhere. I don’t know, I haven’t had a chance to figure all this out. It feels like a really weird dream but more real?”

“I hear the words you’re saying buddy, but they don’t seem to be adding up.”

“Tick, this already happened remember? A while ago. Except, we rescued _everyone_ on the bus. Including the dog! It was the same day The Terror kidnapped me but you, Overkill, and Dot saved me? That’s when I met Karamazov but he....we’ve been through this!!!” 

Tick’s anttenaes twitch along to every word but the blank expression remains on his face.

“Maybe you’re not the real Tick?” Arthur mutters. Afterall, if this was another one of his weird dreams then this wasn’t actually The Tick.

“Nonsense, I’m as real as you are you.”

“Then how come you don’t remember...”

“Oh Memento Mori! We were in Dr. Karamazov’s lair trying out his new fangled brainwave reader when you started screaming!” Tick‘s blue eyes are as wide as flying saucers as the information rushes through his noggin.

“Yes! Yes! And now we’re somewhere inside my dream? Your dream? I don’t know but we should probably try to get back to the real world but I have no idea how.”

“Maybe that fellow over there can help us.” Tick points behind Arthur’s head. 

He swings around to find a tall man leaning against another spotlit door. He looks eerily familiar and it isn’t until he speaks that it clicks for Arthur.

“Bonjour mon papillon de nuit.”

“Ted?! But you’re not real!”

“Certainly I am as real as you simply because we exist together in this moment.” Ted stands up straight, holding his arms out and Arthur realizes he is still wearing the same grey shirt and pajamas from his dream.

“Arthur, you know this sleepy-eyed fellow?”

“He’s you.”

“No, I’m me.”

“No Tick, he’s you from a dream, nevermind. Ted, is there anyway you can tell us what’s going on?”

“Oui. Follow me.” Ted walks through the door behind him.

“Arthur,” Tick places a hand on his shoulder. “are we sure about this guy?”

“Tick, at this point, what choice do we have?”

 

* * *

 

“Everest.”

“Overkill? What’s up?”

“I have something for you.”

“Is it another gun?” Dot chuckles, half joking, half hoping.

“No.” Overkill sounding a bit put-out, “but it’s just as useful. 

“He worked so hard on it, all for you Dot!” Dangerboat sings-songs through the phone. 

“Shut the fuck up Dangerboat!”

“What? Women love when a man takes the time to craft things for them. At least that’s what it seems like in all those Danielle Steel novels.”

Dot doesn’t bother holding back the bubble of laughter. “You made me something? Overkill that’s sosweet.” 

“Yeah well, you’re going to need better gear than some standard paramedics uniform when out on a mission.”

“There’s a mission?!”

“Not just yet but...eventually yeah.” 

“I can come over? I was on my way to get some food, you ok with chinese?”

“Kung Pao, extra spicy.”

“Got it. Be there in half an hour?”

“Fine.”

“See ya then.” Dot hangs up, leaving Overkill staring at his cellphone.

“Ooooo, someone has a date!”

“Shut up.”

“What? I’m happy for you! You’re developing a loving relationship with Dot who happens to be an amazing woman and maybe one day we’ll go out on double dates with the Everest siblings.”

Overkill doesn’t hear half of that as he walks out of the room and into his bunker to get ready.

 

* * *

 

The door leads into Arthur’s kitchen but it’s lacking scorch marks and the hole in the wall. It’s even missing his dining table and chairs and most of his appliances. 

“What can you tell us?” Arthur asks, shoving his hands into his pocket to stop the need to fidget.

“Mad science at its finest mon papillon. The machine meant to help him,” Ted points to Tick, “is the same machine that has put you both in my world.”

“Your world?”

“Oui, the world of memories.”

“But you’re not a memory, you’re a dream.”

“Yes but dreams are nothing more than memories reprocessed and reprinted by your brain. In this case, your memories have fused with Tick’s.”

“Neat!”

“Oui Mousier Tick.” Ted smiles. It unsettles Arthur because that was Tick’s smile. Same teeth, same smile lines, same crinkles at the corners of his eyes.

“Okay, so then how do we get back to the real world?”

“It should be simple enough, find his Arthur.”

“Found him.” Tick sweeps Arthur off his feet and into his arms. “Now what.”

“Tick put me down.” Arthur huffs.

“Monsiuer Tick you are pleasant but he is not your Arthur.”

“Well he’s certainly not yours either.” Tick holds Arthur closer, turning away from Ted.

“Non but I am his Tick.”

“Arthur, tell this imposterous imposter that he is not me.”

“Tick, put me down first.” 

This works and Tick sets Arthur back down onto his own two feet. He adjusts his jacket and shirt and turns to Ted. 

“Are you saying that we need to find the memory-dream version of me that was created by Tick?” 

Ted smiles and nods.

“So he’s not dead? He never came out of the bus.”

“He is somewhere, fliting about Tick’s memories. Find him and together, he and I should be able to wake you both.”

“There are two Arthurs?” Tick asks, a little excitement in his voice.

“Yes Tick. One of them is me, the living, breathing one and the other is the one you see in your dreams.”

“Oh.” Tick’s antennae droop.

“Oh? What is it Tick?”

Tick turns away and heads into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

“Mon papillon de nuit, you should talk to him. There may be a secret he is unwilling to share with me present.”

“Yeah, okay.” Arthur walks up to the bathroom and goes to turn the knob but knocks instead.

“Who is it?” Tick’s voice is soft as it crosses through the door.

“It’s me Tick. Is there...is there anything you need to talk about?” 

“Like what?”

“Like why you got all sad just now, when I mentioned your dreams.”

There’s no answer this time but he can hear Tick moving around inside. Not that there is much room to do so but Arthur waits until there’s no sound at all and tries the knob. Tick hadn’t bother to lock it so Arthur opens the door and steps inside, making sure to close it behind him. Tick sits at the edge of the bare bathtub with his hands in his lap, his eyes on the floor. 

“Whenever I dream of you, something awful happens to you.” Tick’s voice is quiet. No bravado, no heroism, just quiet. 

“Every...every time?” Tick doesn’t answer but the slight turn in his head to look at the wall is answer enough for Arthur. “Tick, do you only have nightmares?” 

“I usually don’t remember until I do.”

Arthur walks closer to Tick and hesitantly, he places his hands on either one of his shoulders. This causes Tick to look up at him with glassy blue eyes.

“I’m okay Tick and as long as I have you, I’ll always be. Because...because we take care of each other...partner.”

Tick’s eyes light up, his face splitting into a genuine smile. He stands up quicker than Arthur could anticipate but catches the smaller man from falling back.

“Let’s go find second Arthur!”

_Knock_ - _Knock_

The bathroom door swings opens with Ted still holding onto the knob. “Excusez moi, but it appears Monsiuer Tick has found several routes for our search to begin.” 

He leans away from the doorway to reveal the kitchen is now filled with several standalone doors. 

“When one door opens, so does seven more.”

“Tick, that’s not...just pick one.”

**Author's Note:**

> Challenging myself to write a fully developed fic in less than two months (originally it was a week but turned failure due to plot bunnies and a twitter post about kittens) There will be more posted soon.


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